Report No. 04/21 Audit and Corporate Services Review Committee
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Report No. 04/21 Audit and Corporate Services Review Committee REPORT OF THE PERFORMANCE AND COMPLIANCE CO-ORDINATOR SUBJECT: PERFORMANCE REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31st DECEMBER 2020 Introduction The performance report follows the structure of the Corporate and Resources Plan for 2020/21. The first section is based on progress against short and mid-term priorities focused on our COVID-19 response and recovery planning. It is important to note that some activities within this section are phased and external factors including changes to regulations will have an impact on delivery and progress. The second section outlines progress against work streams that contribute to the longer term delivery of our Well-being Objectives and impacts within the National Park Management Plan. This section provides insight into the impact of COVID-19 and recovery on long terms delivery and projects across well-being objectives. Some activities within work streams may be progressed during 2020/21, however a number of them particular those involving face to face contact between individuals are influenced by the lifting or re instating of restrictions and regulations. We are reviewing actions under work-streams for our Well-being Objectives as part of the development of the Corporate and Resources Plan 2021/22, taking into account the impact of COVID 19, where we need to continue to have a flexible and adaptive approach and where capacity means that certain activities need to be put on hold. The following report presents the performance to date up to 31st December 2020 for monthly data and quarter 1 - 3 (April – December) statistics for some data sets. An explanation/guidance of RAG status has been added to the end of this introduction report. Impact of December Lockdown - COVID 19 Regulations and recovery activities Coast Path closures were lifted on the 29th June and car parks were also reopened in June, in accordance with risk assessment and Welsh Government approval. The Coast Path and PCNPA car parks remained open during the Firebreak and subsequent lockdown period. Warden staff were back undertaking maintenance work as of May 11th, with two week interruption during the two week firebreak. Warden team were stood down again on December 18th as a result of the lockdown introduced in December, with a phased return under a new Risk Assessment as of 18/1 to carry out work related to Public Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Audit and Corporate Services Review Committee – 10 February 2021 Page 73 of 151 Safety and the Prevention of significant damage. Business as usual work is not being carried out at present and this will impact on the delivery of some projects under our longer term objectives, such as the creation of more accessible circuit walk at reed bed, Freshwater East. Work programming for conservation was re-prioritised to take account of the demand placed on opening up footpaths earlier in the year and has been further affected by the firebreak period and subsequent lockdown. Visitor attraction sites presently remain closed and can only re-open under ‘Tier 2’ restrictions as detailed in the associated Welsh Government COVID guidance. The majority of visitor centre staff have been furloughed. Re-entry into lockdown has meant a focus on working remotely across teams, with Llanion closing on the 20th December. Systems for homeworking are in place, including the 3CX phone system. Adapted and Flexible approach In line with recovery planning activities and relevant risk assessments and as restrictions allowed during Q2 and Q3 we did see the re starting and delivery of adapted face to face services. Activities have been focused on outdoor engagement and delivered in line with risk assessments. Numbers for sessions have had to be restricted. Examples include: 593 participants in walks led by PCNPA staff and volunteers, which includes participants in its events and activities programme that refocused on guided walks. 201 participants ytd in Pembrokeshire led Walking for Well-being Sessions across 35 session and 107 participants in Walkability sessions across 16 sessions. 1,904 pupils have participated in outdoor learning sessions ytd, and alongside this Authority staff and volunteers have delivered school grounds work to support outdoor learning. The return of group volunteering sessions as and when restrictions allowed has meant that 73 volunteer days have been contributed to tree planting in the Park. Despite OYP closing on 4th December due to Welsh Government restrictions, its outdoor markets were still able to take place on 5th, 6th and 12th December. (13th December market cancelled due to poor weather). Following Covid-19 guidance and advice from PCC. COVID 19 has as would be expected had a negative impact on the level of face to face engagement with people across projects, visitor services, community engagement, education programme, volunteering and events. However in some areas we have been able to continue to adapt our services utilising digital opportunities for virtual or hybrid approaches. Using virtual training opportunities has boosted the number of volunteers attending training sessions to 246 ytd, a 78% increase compared to 2019/20. 180 people attended the Authority’s virtual Archaeology Day delivered in partnership with PLANED. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Audit and Corporate Services Review Committee – 10 February 2021 Page 74 of 151 Has enabled continued facilitation virtually of Youth Committee and Volunteer Forum. Castell Henllys has delivered 2 virtual sessions for schools. Pembrokeshire Outdoor Schools has been delivering webinar training sessions for teachers and is developing online resources. OYP also hosted an online exhibition (due to the closure in December). This was the Friends of Oriel y Parc’s annual competition for schoolchildren across the St Davids Campuses. The topic of the competition was the children’s response to Covid-19. It would have normally been displayed in the Tower. Planning Service Officers are continuing to visit sites and to deal with and process valid applications. Workload backlog has effected performance following problems with registering casework due to IT planning system issues in Q3 (this issue has now been resolved) and new lockdown restrictions impacted work in late period of December due to restrictions on office access and site visits. This compounded previous impact of Covid-19 restrictions on office based planning tasks. The impact of these issues is reflected in quarter 1 -3 planning ytd measures. The % of all planning applications determined within time periods required ytd is showing a red RAG rating significantly below target at 57.61%. However there has been an improvement on Q2 ytd figure of 46.77%. The Average time taken to determine all planning applications in days has increased ytd from 102.5 days in Q2 to 113 days in Q3. Working Towards Long Term Objectives During Q2 and Q3 staff have begun to be able to further progress some actions working towards long term objectives. Notable developments ytd include: Completion in September of work at Aberfforest in relation to restabilisation and regrade of stream junction onto the beach. Traditional Boundaries Scheme has been launched. 102 affordable housing units approved - following Planning permission for Brynhir site Tenby issued following signing of S106. NPA approval to refocus work of SDF committee to focus on community decarbonisation projects - with four community projects approved at the November 2020 SDF Committee: Theatre Gwaun - PV panels. Marloes & St Bridges Village Hall - Battery storage. Pembrokeshire Mencap - small infrastructure energy reduction. Wildlife Trust South & West Wales - PV upgrades and energy reduction initiatives on Skomer and Skokholm. Mobile Phone App has been designed on the Arc Online platform (linked to Digital Park Project) and is now in use by Area Managers, to survey the extent of the ash die back problem on PCNPA owned estate. EV charging points funded via Welsh Government Sustainable Places, Sustainable Landscapes funding have been out to tender with submission deadline 7/1/2021. Installation of EV’s is likely to be carried forward into 2021/22. NPA agreed in December on the land purchase related to carbon sequestration project, funded via Welsh Government Sustainable Places, Sustainable Landscapes funding. Conveyance is in process in relation to the land purchase. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Audit and Corporate Services Review Committee – 10 February 2021 Page 75 of 151 Rollout of Office 2016 to 130 devices completed in November. However some areas remained affected in October by Current or impact of previous COVID 19 regulations on delivery Staff within some teams having been on furlough in previous months or currently on furlough, limiting capacity in some areas the need to adapt services the need to reprioritise actions for some teams in previous months on COVID 19 related actions such as recovery planning, risk assessments or reopening activities. This has had a particular impact on some corporate and HR related areas of work. Health and Safety and HR System The Authority has had two RIDDOR (Reportable) incidents ytd, these happened in Q1 and Q2. No further RIDDOR’s happened in Q3. Training to maintain adequate levels of health and safety for front line staff has been prioritised and training has recommenced. EIR One Environmental Information Regulations response was not delivered in time in Q1. Officer has apologised for the delay to the recipient. All EIRs in Q2 and Q3 responded to within required timescales. Explanation of RAG Status RAG What it means Red Close monitoring and/or significant action required. This would normally be triggered by any combination of the following: Measures: Not meeting the target or set to miss the target by a significant amount. Some Planning targets are based on Welsh Government targets. Projects/ Project Development: Significant issues with the project e.g. project hasn’t started within expected timescales, delays against critical milestones, failure to achieve project outcomes, significant challenges to operational delivery, issues with budget profiling or future funding concerns.